Me and a bunch of people have been playing a bunch of GOW multiplayer lately and it's been a blast - props to everyone at Epic. For the most part the maps and gameplay are very well done. There are definitely favorites and some with issues...we exclusively play annex so keep in mind a bunch of the maps weren't built with this mode in mind.
1. Recognizable level landmarks
For me this is one of the big things that makes it easier for me to learn (and therefore enjoy a map). I think too many of the gears maps fail to do this well enough. Take Garden. At least 2 or 3 times in a match I find myself running 2 or staying at the wrong greenhouse. Even a map that's generally good at this could use a little more clarification (the upper left and right mirrored spots - it would be better to be able to say "the balcony with the statue", or "red building" balcony. Some other levels that could use a little more clarity are Canals, and Mausoleum. In general while looking around, I should be able to tell my teammates where I am in a small sentence - sometimes I can use weapon spawns, but ideally this should be conveyed by the level architecture and texturing.
2. Level lighting
Perhaps this problem is exacerbated by my 27" standard TV (there are a lot of us out there still!), but on a few levels I have a very hard time telling the teams apart. In general this is an issue due to generally similar body sizes and next-gen-style lighting, but it really sticks out in a level like process which I like in every other way...on the grenade capture point (by the 2 long bridges) the 2 teams look pretty much dark black. I have similar issues in Bullet Marsh.
3. Running paths
Good paths to run (holding A) make playing in a GOW level much more fun. Ideally I should be able to traverse large distances in the map without unintentionally getting stuck too often and without having to come out of run too often. One thing I learned from Counter-strike design that applies to GOW is that having 2 ways -no more, no less- to go from start (and all spawn points if possible) is ideal...it allows your team to break up into a couple groups. Finally, there should be enough running room for 4 team members to run around. A good example of all these is Gridlock. Coming from start there is a large curved section which splits off on two sides of the railing. Running from here to any section of the map is a treat. Rooftops is a bad example of this and one of the reasons we don't play it much. The start has you running towards a linear section of thin L-shaped corridors. These sections would be better served if the were not 90 degrees (curved or sectional) and/or larger in size. As they are, you often bump into your comrades or get sucked into the walls. Additionally it takes 7 or 8 seconds before it branches off to a sectional area of hard turns and stairs that is very hard to run through...
4. Arg!- Dropoffs
Sometimes ledges and stairs don't let you walk off of them from certain angles. I also have issues rolling off them and running down them. This is not a level-only issue but it sure seems worse in some spots than others. In general, too many short stairs and ledges in close proximity and mixed in with short 90 degree turns make traversal less fun (see Rooftops). Certain geometry placed too nearby can make the problem even worse - like the pillars placed near the stairs in Canals.
5. Respawn spots
In general, most respawn points are well thought out and well-done. There are a couple instances where they aren't as good. In Raven Down, enemies can spawn directly behind you . When you have the jeep control point under control with a short dead end behind you..this feel extremely cheap. Also related is some of the points above. I want to know where I am (landmarks) and have a nice path(s) to run to where I need to go to. Finally, there is at least one occasion where a capture spot is near enough to a spawn point...in Fuel Depot, there is a capture right near the spawn point in the hangars which encourages spawn camping...
6. Long linear routes = bad
For multiplayer games, oftentimes it's often best to have a short to medium path to every other spot in the map. GOW does this particularly well. Most of the better levels are built like a series of interconnected Os that allow good meeting spots, and flanking enemies who don't watch there backs. There are a couple that don't feel as good. Bullet Marsh deserves some criticism for how long it takes to get from place to place. It takes extremely long to get from the top middle to the bottom. A couple extra routes or shortened lead up routes would've made this map more playable. Escalation has similar issues due to its extremely linear climb. Perhaps this level could have worked better half the height stacked next to each other with a couple paths between.
7. Variety in capture points
It's nice to have variety within a level's capture points. Most of Garden capture points give you different feeling, from the close combat of the middle spot, to the stairways leading to the boom, to the uneasy surroundings of the greenhouse. Process is really good in this regard as well. You have a wide open spot with massive death counts, a small round spot that's easy to flank and chainsaw, a long sniper friendly corridor that also has stairs to the side, a raised platform that is exposed on the sides and back, and the area behind it which is lower and exposed on the sides...each spot feels hard to defend in unique ways.
That's it for now....More thoughts as they come. I would love to try my hand at making a GOW multiplayer map, but currently there is no way...let's hope more maps are coming in the future :)
Some comments from my friend Mars at work:
ReplyDeleteTotally agreed, these are all the points that keep coming up.
Navigation and landmarks are my biggest problems with the maps, for all the reasons you put down. The maps are generally small and easy enough to learn but it's way too difficult to communicate locations to teammates. This is further exacerbated by the rotating spawns in annex - you don't even have the frame of reference of "our side/their side" that you do in other team-based games like TFC and DoD. You wind up resorting to phrases like "If you're looking out from sniper they're on the left side" which is totally ridiculous.
Counterstrike's convention of A/B bombsites may be cheesy and cheap but it's a super easy and effective landmark. You even get emergent names for specific routes to the bombsites like "Long A", "Short B", "Double doors", all of which are very quick and very specific. I think in Gears they try to address this by using specific weapon spawns as the control points but that is unreliable because there are often multiple spawns of certain weapons and server options can completely change the weapon availability.
Many of the control points are too defensible, which is just a result of shoehorning a territory control gametype into deathmatch maps. The maps generally flow great for DM but have hiccups in Annex. This is pretty well addressed in the new crop of maps although there are places in subway like the sniper rifle and the upper grenades which have only one approach each.
Something else difficult to get right is the frequency of cover. This relates closely to your "Running Paths" point. Many areas are overpopulated with cover objects. The spawn areas of the train map (no idea what most map names are) is a good example. The cover is too dense to get around easily and the flow of these areas is much too dependent on 90 degree turns, especially the stairwells. The circular graveyard map with all the headstones is an especially dense spot. I have this problem in a lot of places - even in spots obviously not meant for running, the corridor flow is often very poor. It's hard to make 90 degree turns in the game, but it requires you do so too often.
For that matter, making map *names* more prominent would go a long way toward helping players communicate about the maps. I just have no idea what most of them are called since I never set up to host. I don't know what all the official weapon names are either, like the Locust machine gun. What's it called?